How has the Book of Mormon strengthened my faith in the Atonement?

The subtitle of the Book of Mormon is "Another Testament of Jesus Christ". When I joined the Church as a teenager, there was not a subtitle. It took me a long time to learn what the Book of Mormon is really about.

Larry's Answer Was Not What He Expected

This first time I became conscious of the connection between the Book of Mormon and faith in Christ and his Atonement was when a friend told me of his experiencing in seeking a testimony of the Book of Mormon. As a convert, I had a belief in the Book of Mormon, the Prophet Joseph Smith, and the Restored Church. These were the center of my fledgling testimony. I was frankly more interested in being a Mormon than in being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ. I believed in Jesus as the Savior, but I did not really appreciate what that meant. The Atonement was not what excited me about the gospel. I was more excited about revelation, new scriptures, a fuller vision of the plan of salvation that included the pre-existence and the three degrees of glory. Somehow in all of my gaining of knowledge about this new church I had recently joined, the central role of Christ did not register on my consciousness.

Then one day I was talking with my friend Larry about his mission. Larry was older than me by several years, and he had recently returned from his mission to Sweden. He related to me how, at the beginning of his mission, he felt the need to strengthen his testimony of the Book of Mormon. So he set about to focus on the Book of Mormon in his daily personal study. He began reading the book from cover to cover for the first time. He began each study session with a prayer that the Lord would tell him the Book of Mormon was true. He would then read several chapters for forty-five minutes. Then he would pray again.

It took him a few weeks to get through the book. When he finished, he said the most amazing thing happened. His testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon was not much different at the end of the exercise than at the beginning, but he became aware that his testimony of Christ and his love for the Savior were far deeper and more powerful than ever before. God had answered his prayer with what he truly needed rather than what he had asked for. He realized that his testimony of the Book of Mormon was adequate, but his testimony of Christ was what needed to be enhanced. Reading the Book of Mormon did that for him.

Dawns the Light

When he told me of his experience, I thought, "Hmm, I have never really thought of the Book of Mormon as being about Christ. I thought of it as being about prophets like Lehi and Nephi and Alma and Mormon and Moroni. I thought of it as being about wars and family feuds and great battles and political intrigue. I was caught up in the history of the Book of Mormon, and I had failed to see the point of all of that history, which is a testimony of Christ. That is why the Isaiah chapters and the long sermons of King Benjamin and Alma seemed boring to me. I knew everyone said that the highlight of the Book of Mormon was the appearance of Christ to the Nephites as recorded in Third Nephi, and I was thrilled by the drama of the destruction, the three days of darkness, the gathering to the Bountiful Temple, and the miraculous appearance of the resurrected Lord. But then there were more long sermons and a rehash of New Testament chapters, and I just didn't get the point.

However, in my typical fashion, I pondered a long time on my friend Larry's experience and his assertion that the Book of Mormon can strengthen our faith in Christ. Over a period of several years, my understanding of the gospel matured and deepened. I slowly began to comprehend the importance of the Atonement and of Christ's central place in the church and the plan of salvation. I listened in classes and sacrament meeting talks and General Conference as inspired teachers and leaders spoke of Christ and bore their testimonies of him. As I continued to read the Book of Mormon many times and study it, it gradually dawned on me that Christ is indeed the central figure in the Book. Unlike my friend Larry, who could point to a single event that brought Christ's role sharply into focus for him, my understanding was slow in coming - line upon line and precept upon precept.

Eyes to See and Ears to Hear

Today I see the Book of Mormon completely differently. I see the exciting and intriguing stories of battles and captivities and miraculous rescues as types and shadows of the redemption and salvation offered by Christ's Atonement. I see in the long sermons profound expositions of gospel principles that lead to greater faith in Christ. Christ and his Atonement are interwoven in every page of the Book of Mormon. It only takes eyes to see and ears to hear.

For example, Lehi's entire journey with his family through the wilderness to the Promised Land is a metaphor for our journey through mortality towards the Celestial Kingdom. Lehi needed the brass plates (scriptures), the liahona (Holy Ghost), and a ship (Atonement) to complete his journey succesfully.

The captivity of Alma's people under the Amulon and the Lamanites and their miraculous escape is metaphor for our miraculous rescue from the captivity of sin through the Atonement. Alma and his people were living peacefully and faithfully when they were discovered by the Lamanites. They tried to be helpful to the lost Lamanite army, but their generosity backfired on them, and they found themselves enslaved. Though the oppression of their taskmasters weigh heavily upon them, they remained faithful and humble. They prayed for deliverance. The Lord did not immediately deliver them, but he gave them hope and strengthened them so that they could endure their afflictions. In the Lord's own time, the word came to Alma that their escape was at hand. God caused the Lamanites to fall into a deep sleep, and Alma's people simply walked away from the land of their captivity. They were strengthened and ultimately saved by the tender mercies of the Lord.

In contrast to Alma's experience was the experience of the people of Limhi. This group of Nephites were likewise in captivity by the Lamanites at about the same time as Alma. However, instead of being faithful and humbly waiting upon the Lord, Limhi attempted to free his people by their own power. Repeated they battled their Lamanites oppressors, and each time they were beaten and discouraged. Only when they finally humbled themselves and consigned themselves to the reality of their situation and their utter helplessness to save themselves did the Lord intervene. He sent an expedition of Nephites from the land of Zarahemla, led by Ammon, to find Limhi's people. The arrival of this small band of men gave Limhi hope. He called upon his people to repent and to humble themselves and to cry unto the Lord for deliverance. Only when the people were sufficiently humble did the Lord effect their escape.

The comparisons and contrasts between the people and Alma and the people of Limhi are instructive in helping us see the difference between humility and pride, faith in the Lord and faith in the arm of flesh, between the spiritual child and the natural man. The situations were very similar and the outcomes the same, but the experience and the sufferings of the two groups were very different.

in my own life I need the same tools that Lehi had to successfully navigate through mortality and arrive safely in the Kingdom of Christ and his father, namely, the scriptures, the Holy Ghost, and the Atonement. My experience in this life will be much better if I am humble and penitent and faithful and rely on the arm of the Lord. I will not be without trials, anymore than Alma's people were without their affliction of captivity. But if I rely on the Lord and not solely on my own strength, Christ and his Atonement will help me and strengthen me to endure until he ultimately saves me.

Prophets Testify of Christ

The Book of Mormon teaches plainly and in rich detail about the fullness of the gospel of Christ and his Atonement.

• Christ was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of all mankind. (1 Ne. 11:33)
• Christ offered himself a sacrifice for sin. (2 Ne. 2:7)
• The Atonement is infinite. (2 Ne. 9:7)
• God will raise us from everlasting death by the power of the atonement (2 Ne. 10:25)
• The Atonement is the key to the great and eternal plan of deliverance. (2 Ne. 11:5)
• We are reconciled unto God through the atonement of Christ. (Jacob 4:11)
• The blood of Christ atoned for our sins. (Mosiah 3:16)
• Were it not for the atonement, we must unavoidably perish. (Mosiah 13:28)
• The Lord made his soul an offering for sin. (Mosiah 14:10)
• Christ took upon himself the pains and the sicknesses of his people. (Alma 7:11)
• Christ atoned for the sins of the world. (Alma 34:8)
• The atonement will brings to pass the resurrection. (Alma 42:23)
• We are saved only through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ. (Hel. 5:9)
• Jesus Christ, who is the God of the whole earth, was slain for the sins of the world. (3 Ne. 11:14)
• We set at naught the atonement at our own peril. (Moro. 8:20)
• We can be sanctified through the shedding of Christ's blood. (Moro. 10:33)

Conclusion

The Book of Mormon is a powerful witness of Christ and his Atonement. My friend Larry found this truth early in his life. It has taken me a little longer, but i am grateful that the Lord has opened my eyes and unstopped my ears. I have many witnesses that Jesus is the Christ. The Book of Mormon has become a cornerstone in my testimony of, and my faith in, the Atonement of Christ.